


Going Home

by Sorenalice



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: AU, Mythology - Freeform, deertaur!Danny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-08
Updated: 2014-02-17
Packaged: 2018-01-07 23:09:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1125489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sorenalice/pseuds/Sorenalice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Deertaur!Danny- Danny lived in the forest all his life, but now, forced into the human world, he needs to fight to go back home. And with a little bit of help, he may be able to get it back. Inspired by DarkenedDawning's mythology au.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

I slowly blinked my eyes open, adjusting to the bright morning light. Stretching out, I yawned widely. I looked up at the sky and stood up, shaking out my legs. I sighed and headed out of my glen and into the family room.  
Dad had gotten the fire going already and was cooking something that vaguely resembled a rat. Mom was stationed at the large gray boulder that we used as a table and counter. She fluttered above it, chopping veggies and shoving them into a massive heap.  
Dad trotted over and placed the rat things into the pile and kissed her cheek. I grimaced and looked away.  
Ugh it’s so gross when they do that. I mean, who wants to see their parents do that? I sure don’t.  
My Dad was supposed to be the leader. He’s the biggest and strongest centaur in the forest! But because of his and Mom’s… interest… in the spirit world, he kinda ignores his responsibility. If he were to maybe acknowledge that responsibility, even a little bit, maybe Dash wouldn’t pummel me every day.  
I huffed and made my way to the boulder. I sat back on my haunches and Mom scooted a lump of the pile over to me, along with a fork.  
“Thanks, Mom.” I took the fork in my hands and munched away.  
“No problem, Sweetie. What are you going to do today?”  
“I don’t know. Probably go hang out with Tucker.” Mom smiled and nodded.  
Tucker is my best friend. I suppose I could probably say only friend, but he’s a great guy. He’s a satyr.   
My sister flitted in with a smile on her face. Her hair, made of leaves the color of fall, trailed behind her like a gust of wind. She was 12 years old but she thought she was already an adult. I have a few different thoughts. But she doesn’t listen to me, I’m only 10 years old.  
I finished my breakfast quickly and pranced out of the clearing.  
“Bye, I’m gonna go play with Tucker!”  
“Be safe, Danny!” my Dad called after me, but I was already on my way.  
I nimbly leapt through the trees and hopped towards Tucker’s house.  
When I got there, he was already waiting for me, sitting on top of a massive root, a smile on his face. “Hey, dude. You ready to go?” he asked.  
“Yeah, let’s go!” Tucker slid off of the root and ran up beside me. We strode off in the direction of the Hollow, where most of the kids went and played.  
“So, do you think Dash’ll try and race you again?”  
“Probably. He’s so mad that I can beat him. It’s funny.”  
“You should just run extra slowly this time, y’know- almost let him win and then cream ‘im.”  
“Sounds good to me!” I laughed.  
When we finally arrived at the Hollow, Dash was waiting for me.  
He stormed up to me, his heavy hooves beating the earth and red coat shining in the sunlight. His face was held in a permanently angry and confused expression, making him look like someone who just heard a very wordy insult.. It’s hard to believe this moron was supposed to be the next leader of the forest.  
“Hey, Fen-ton!”  
“What, Dash?” He’s not even trying anymore, that nickname is just my actual name.  
“I want a rematch. You cheated.”  
“No, Dash, I didn’t cheat, I just ran faster than you did.” I watched in amusement as his face grew almost as red as his fur and he blew up in an angry roar.  
“You’ll pay for this, Fenton!” He lunged at me, his massive body coming in fast. I dodged out of the way, but not fast enough. He clipped my back leg and sent me sprawling.  
“OW!” I looked back at my leg, red blood was slowly oozing out of the fresh cut. I heard Dash laugh and looked up.  
“Aww, look at the little big-eared baby! Are you gonna cry?”  
“No! Go away, Dash!” I stood up shakily. It’s hard when my legs get hurt. They’re small when they’re not missing a hunk of skin, I’d hate to see ‘em without one. I stood on three legs and glared up at Dash.  
“What is it Fen-turd? What’re you and your big ears gonna do about it?”  
I opened my mouth to reply but it was cut off by the cracking of a branch. Our heads all snapped in the direction of the noise, out ears straight up with caution.  
Ever so slowly, a two legged man comes stepping through the brush, his face carefully blank. I was hidden behind Dash- he couldn’t see me. His leather jacket was long and heavy looking, hanging down to his ankles from his shoulders. Black pants were stuffed into tall black boots. In his hand, a long, strangely shaped stick with an open end. In another hand, a set of reins that led up to a saddled horse, lean and strong.  
A hunter.  
Dash backed away from the hunter slowly, revealing me. The hunter’s eyes narrowed and a determined look grew on his face as soon as his eyes met mine. He mounted his horse in a blink and SNAP!  
We all darted off in separate directions, afraid of being caught by the hunter.  
I don’t know where the others went. All I knew was that he was after us, and most likely, me.  
Myth children are the most valuable to them. We’re young enough to mold into whatever they want us to be. And me, being a deertaur, who were once hunted specifically because we’re ‘elegant’ or something, makes me rare, and rare is good.  
I slipped through the trees noiselessly, the hunter trailing clumsily behind me. I leapt over creeks, valleys and roots, desperate to get away.  
We got to a clearing and he finally caught up with me. His horse panting heavily and my leg throbbing with each heartbeat.  
He raised the stick in his arm and a shot rang out.  
Pain ripped through my chest and I fell, crashing to the ground.  
My vision blurred and I looked up at the hunter. I couldn’t see his face, I only saw him turning his horse and walking away.  
I wanted him to stay and save me. I didn’t care if he was the one who put me here in the first place, I needed help. I didn’t want to die alone! I was too young! I called out to him, my voice breaking and weak. “Ple- a-ase, h-h-elp...”  
He stopped his horse and turned back to look at me. He paused, just staring at me, blood leaking out of my chest, shuddering with the struggle of every breath. It wasn’t long before he turned away from me and spurred his horse onward.  
It wasn’t long before my vision went black.


	2. Chapter 2

“Daniel, wake up.”  
I groaned. My head throbbed and pulsed. I slowly sat up, clutching my head and looking around.   
My eyes met with a blue-skinned old man with a long white beard. His eyes were pupilles, completely red, a scar ran over one eye.He was cloaked in billowing purple robes, flowing with no wind to make them dance like they did. In his chest was a clock, ticking away, echoing into the starry darkness that surrounded us.  
“Who are you?”  
“That’s not very important right now, you don’t need to know yet. You’ll find out soon, enough though. The more important thing right now, however, is you, Daniel.”  
“Why- wait, where are we?”  
“We’re in the spirit world. And as to why we are here,” he sighed “You died, Daniel.”  
“No I didn’t I’m still here. I’m still-” I cut myself off when he raised a hand.  
“No Daniel. You are dead right now, but, it is not your time to die.”  
“Not my time?”   
“You were not supposed to die in that clearing today. I am offering you a chance to live again.”  
“Really?”  
“Yes. Although, there may be a slight side effect.”  
“I’ll take it! Wait- side effect?” The man smiled and raised a hand.  
“Yes, you’ll be able to see spirits. Not as you do now, but you will be able to see them.” I thought on this for a moment. Being able to see dead myths in return for my life back?  
“I’ll do it, let’s go.”  
“Very well.”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
My eyes opened again, met with the low lights of the late evening. The sky was just turning pink with the setting sun. I was still in the clearing.   
I stood up and looked around. I nearly fell back down with what I saw.  
Myths just standing around, not even paying attention to the breeze. They weren’t normal either. Their skin was all completely black, dotted with hundreds of thousands of small, shining silver dots, they were translucent. I could see through them, but it was discolored and the stars stuck out against the black blur of Myth.  
“Hello?” I called out to them, but they just ignored me and went about their own business. One looked over at me, but quickly looked away. They must be the spirits of the dead, just completely ignoring the living, able to see them, but unable to interact in any way.   
I shrugged and walked away, making my way back home.  
My hand fell upon my chest, right where I’d been shot. It was healed over, but there was a big scar there. I sighed, I’d have a tough time explaining that to my parents.   
I made it back home in almost an hour, the sun was nearly completely set and the smell of dinner cooking was dancing in the air. I walked into the clearing and smiled.  
“Hey Sweetie, did you have a fun time with Tucker?” Mom was floating around the boulder, flitting around and gathering ingredients from around the clearing. Dad was standing at the fire, throwing some extra logs in. Jazz laying on a log, reading a book.  
“Yeah. What’s for dinner?”  
“Oh, just some noodles. Did you eat lunch?”  
“No…”  
“I’ll make some extra for you, then.”  
“Thanks, Mom.”  
I looked at the spirit walking through the fire, oblivious or ignorant to the angry tongues of flames licking at it. The fire made the stars on it’s skin shimmer with a yellow glow.  
I huffed.   
That spirit was creepy.


	3. Chapter 3

It’s been four years since I met the man who gave me back my life.   
I’m fourteen now. My antlers are coming in too. They’re still small, but they’ve branched out already.   
My parents did notice the scar on my chest that looked like it was supposed to be a huge, gaping hole. They had heard about the attack by the hunter from other kids and immediately interrogated me about it. I told them that the hunter hit me with something, but he used something to heal it- humans can probably do that- and got scared off by something. I’m pretty sure they didn’t actually believe it, but they didn’t ask me anything else.  
I looked up at the ground in front of me. A boulder stuck out into the babbling creek, nearly reaching all the way across. Spidery tree branches hung low above the creek, a spirit playing around in the boughs, ignoring the world around it, passing through twigs and trunks.   
I rolled my eyes and hopped onto the boulder, carefully stepping across it.   
I heard a twig snap not that far away and my head turned with my ears, completely erect. I’ve learned to be more cautious since the incident with the hunter. I always check the forest around me when I walk.   
Not seeing anything potentially dangerous, I slowly turned my head back to the path in front of me, gradually stepping forward.  
I tried to step forward, anyway. My head was jerked back by my antlers.  
I tried looking up, but I couldn’t really move my head in that direction. I reached my arms up and felt around.   
My antlers were caught in branches. I huffed angrily and stomped my foot. My hands worked at getting my antlers out of the branches. I was not expecting this.  
After about five minutes I finally got them loose, the spirit in the trees was laughing at me. I snorted at it and stepped forward, my head hanging low to avoid more branches. I heard more rustling and turned back to where I heard the noise come from.   
A tuft of long grass stuck out of the brush. The grass wiggled and a human hunter- the same human hunter sprung out of it, the stick in his arms, narrow end aimed at me. I started and dashed away from the creek as quick as I could, but it wasn’t fast enough.  
“I’ve got’cha, Deertaur.” The hunter clicked his gun and I felt a prick in my chest and the world blurred.   
I got so tired. I was on the bank of the creek, my hooves sinking into the muddy sand. I lost my balance and stumbled, landing in the cool water. My head fell into the mud and a dark ring formed around my vision. The ring blacked everything out, and the world slipped away.  
\--X--  
My head ached. Every noise was amplified much louder than it should be. I groaned and tried to stretch, but was stopped by a solid surface and a metallic clang.  
My eyes snapped open and were met with a shining metal wall. I lifted my hand to it and pushed it. It was cold and stiff.  
I sat up and looked around me.  
Four walls, three of them the same dark metal, one was bars made of the same material, shining in the light from the outside. The ceiling was high enough for me to stand, but solid metal.  
A cage.   
I snorted and squared my shoulders. I backed up into the cage as much as I could. I coiled myself up, ready to spring.  
My antlers clattered against the bars and my head rammed up against one, making the world spin and stars dance against my vision.  
I stumbled back. That was a bad decision. I shook my head and glared at the bars of the cage. I huffed and thought a moment before I walked straight up to the bars and slid my antlers into the gaps between the bars by the lock. I pushed as much as I could, nearly bruising my head.  
I felt something grab my antlers and push me back into the cage.  
I glared at the hunter. He was smiling cruelly at me.  
“My name’s Skulker. What’s yours?”  
“What kind of name is Skulker?” I spat.  
“My name. What is yours.” He stared at me, his face never faltering. I glowered at him and turned away, moving deeper into the cage. Skulker sighed and cocked his head at me.  
“Listen, Deertaur. If you don’t tell me your name, you’re getting a different one, and it probably won’t be very nice.”  
I stared back at him, my face pulled into a grimace.  
“Danny.”  
“That wasn’t so hard, now was it, Danny?” he looked at me for a moment, like he was observing me and analysing me. His eyes wandered over my form and stopped at the scar on my chest.  
“Say, are you the same deertaur I shot in the chest four years ago? You look alot like him.”  
I glared up at him. “Yes, thank you for leaving me there, by the way. I appreciated that.”  
Skulker laughed at my sarcasm and leaned against the bars of the cage, a smile on his face.  
“How did you even recover? I left you there for dead.”  
“My Mom found me.” I lied quickly. I internally smirked when his smile faltered. He didn’t think about me having a family. He stood straight up and sighed.   
“How old are you?”   
“Fourteen.” Skulker nodded and stared at me for a moment. He stood up straight and stepped away from the cage.  
“You’re going to auction today. See you later.” I narrowed my eyes at him. He started turning away, but stopped himself.  
“What do you mean auction?”  
“You’re being sold.”  
“I’m not yours to sell.”  
“Yeah you are. The second I caught you, you were mine. See that collar around your neck? That makes you mine.” I glanced down at my throat and flinched. Around my neck, a leather collar was wrapped tightly, a silver ring sticking out of it, presumably for a leash. My eyes hardened and I looked up at Skulker.  
“No, I’m not yours. Let me go.”  
“No.”and with that, he left. Leaving me to the cold, echoing loneliness of the cage.   
I couldn’t see anything from the cage. I could hear other Myths in cages next to me, but that’s it. I only got a view of a wall of stone, painted a dull gray.  
I sat back in my cage with a sigh. I wanted to go home. I thought about my family and friends, everyone who would miss me. Mom would be devastated. Dad would probably blame himself. Jazz would weep for me. Tucker probably wouldn’t be able to sleep.  
They would look high and low for me.   
I laid down in the cage and exhaled in sadness. What was going to happen to me? I’ve heard stories from Myths who have escaped from the humans. I would either be enslaved or treated as a pet. Neither one sounds like a very good option to me.  
I’ve also heard that they breed us, or, try to anyway. I’m only fourteen, and because I’m a deertaur they might want to ‘save the deertaurs!’ or something. I shivered at the thought.  
I eventually drifted into sleep. It had been a long day and I was still feeling some of the effects of whatever it was that Skulker hit me with.  
It didn’t last very long though. After a little while, Skulker came back with a smile on his face.  
“Ready to go, deertaur?”  
“What was the point of telling you my name if you’re not gonna use it?”  
“Records.” Skulker snapped the leash and reached into the cage. I cowered in the back of the cage, my hooves clamouring against the slick metal, trying to get away from his hand.  
He grabbed my antlers and jerked me forward, clicking the leash on the collar around my neck.  
“Try anything, and I saw off your tiny little antlers. Don’t even talk.” his voice was low and dangerous, clearly not an empty threat. I gulped and nodded.  
“Good.” He dragged me out of the cage and threaded the leash back through the bars. He started walking forwards, jerking me along behind him.  
We got to a small stage, big enough for three centaurs at once. A huge crowd of humans stood in front of the stage. My eyes widened. I had never even seen this many myths in one place, let alone humans. A few humans had myths with them, but they had collars too.  
When they spotted me the whole group broke out in murmurs. Whispering and pointing at me.  
“Alright, folks, settle down now. Settle. I’ve got a treat for you today! This here-” he motioned to me “- is Danny. He’s a deertaur. Now, years ago, deertaurs were all hunted down and captured because, I mean, look at ‘im. They’re elegant. Perfect pets and servants. Anyway, people forgot to let the deertaurs breed and create more, so they just kinda died out. There’s still some out there, but Danny here is the first one seen in years. Danny is about fourteen years old, freshly caught. He’d make a great status symbol too. Starting bid is $50,000. Any takers?”  
The audience looked taken aback when he said the price, but a girl about my age with dark skin and green eyes, dressed in orange raised her hand, a stick with the number 764 painted in red on it.   
“764 for $50,000! Do I have $60,000?”   
A man raised his number.  
“$60,000! I have $60,000!”  
The girl raised her number again and called out “$80,000!”  
Skulker smiled “$80,000! $80,000! Going once, twice…”  
A man with a long, silver ponytail, dressed in fancy looking black clothes and a permanent sneer on his face shouted “$100,000!”  
“$100,000 for the gentleman with the ponytail! Going once, twice….sold! To the ponytail guy!”  
Skulker led me off of the stage and into the center of the room, the audience split to clear a path for me.  
I jumped when a child reached out and touched my leg, nearly jumping into Skulker. He glared back at me, but kept walking.  
The Man with the ponytail was smirking at me. I tried shrinking behind Skulker, but he jerked me in front of him and handed the leash to the man.   
“Want to inspect before paying?”  
Inspect? What did that- oh.  
The Man nodded and started running a hand down my leg, lifting it up to check for any injuries or illnesses. He did the same to each leg before he moved to my back. I felt very uncomfortable with all of this. He was just examining me! Like someone buying a piece of meat or fruits!  
I was snapped out of my thoughts when he grabbed my jaw and looked into my mouth.  
It was then that I decided that I really hated this guy.  
“He looks good to me.” the Man nodded and handed the leash back to Skulker, who was having trouble holding in his laughter. I must’ve been making a very amusing face. Skulker quickly composed himself and started.  
“Alright, take him and go register your purchase at the front. You’ll need the money and your name.” Skulker turned to me, a smile on his face. “Bye, Danny.” he waved.  
The Man dragged me out of the crowd, towards what I guessed was the front. I wanted to just snap at him so badly, but I also still believed that Skulker would keep his promise and saw off my antlers.  
The Man stopped at a wooden desk. The woman there was short and stout, her face looked like a toad’s.  
“Name and purchase?” she croaked. The Man pulled a wad of paper out of his back pocket and counted it all out.   
“$100,000 for the deertaur.” She scribbled it down into a notebook.  
“Name?”  
“Vlad Masters.”


	4. Chapter 4

My hooves clopped against the cool stone walkway leading us out of the square. The sun shone brightly and the sky was a crisp blue, not even a cloud. Humans bustled around, not paying anyone else any attention. One occasionally would notice me and do a double take, but they continued on their way after a few seconds.  
The Man, now known as ‘Vlad’ kept one hand at his side and the other on my leash. He strutted around with an air of importance. He led me around until we reached a street.  
Horses and centaurs were pulling carts full of people and goods. I’ve never seen anything so busy. There wasn’t as many people as there was in the auction house, but the activity made it seem like there was.  
I felt a tug at my neck and was pulled into the street. Vlad walked in front of me, his shoes clicking with each casual step.   
Vlad leads me into another square. This one is full of horses and centaurs hitched up to fancy looking carts just standing around, tied to posts, carts empty. Vlad leads me to the largest cart. Its wheels were black, lined with blood red, the body of the cart was black and shiny, trimmed with the same red as the wheels. I vaguely recognized the centaur as someone who had been in the forest when I was really young, but I didn’t know who. He smiled at me briefly when he saw me, but it quickly turned sad and he looked away.   
Vlad climbed into the cart, still holding the leash. He looked back at me with an eyebrow raised when I didn’t follow him inside.  
I’ve never been in a cart. Or climbed up stairs. This involves both. I couldn’t just run off. Skulker would find me again and take my manhood.   
“Are you coming?” Vlad asked impatiently. I looked up at him, a frustrated look on my face.  
“I’m sorry, I haven’t actually climbed stairs before, y’know, with how I lived in a forest my entire life before I was dragged out and sold to some weird human.”   
Vlad scowled at me and retreated into the cart, my leash still in his hand. He tugged at it, pulling me closer and closer into the cart.  
I lifted one leg and cautiously put it on the first step, then another leg. I placed the first leg into the cart , followed by the other, and dragged myself in that way. Climbing stairs is hard work with four legs.  
Vlad smirked at my struggle and I glared at him. “You know, Daniel, I am your owner now. And as your owner, I command that you treat me with respect.”  
I looked at him, my face pulled into a nonplussed expression. “Vlad, where I come from, people don’t own other people, and respect is earned, not bought.” I narrowed my eyes at him. He only smiled.  
“Well, it’s a good thing you’re not a person then, isn’t it?”  
I blew up at him. “Excuse me? I don’t think I heard you right. Did you say that I’m not a person? I have thoughts, I can speak, I can feel, I can do everything you can do. In fact, because of the way you buy people, I think I’m more of a person than you are.”  
Vlad frowned at this and his eyes narrowed into slits. “You will respect me, deertaur. I bought you legally and fairly. If you don’t stop this ridiculous behavior there will be consequences.”  
“In my home, it’s illegal for people to buy and sell other people. I wasn’t captured legally- there’s no such thing. You broke the law. My ‘purchase’ isn’t even a little legal.”  
“Daniel, human society doesn’t recognize the myth laws. My purchase was perfectly legal and you are mine now.”  
“My name is Danny. Besides, what do you even want me for? The only thing I’m even a little good at is running, and clearly, I’m not good enough.” Vlad laughed at this.  
“Yes, clearly. But you see, you are a deertaur. No human has seen another of your kind in decades. You are a rarity, and I have collected you.”  
I growled at him. “I’m not something for you to put on a shelf and keep locked up!”  
Vlad laughed at this and moved to the front of the cart, whispering something into the driver’s ear. A human spirit was sitting next to the driver, flipping something around a finger and smiling. It hopped off and wandered through the centaurs and into the crowd.   
All of a sudden the cart jolted into movement and I stumbled. Vlad chuckled and came back towards me.  
“Just sit down, Daniel. Home is still a ways away.” I glared daggers at the man.  
“Your home. Not mine.” I plopped myself down on the floor of the cart with a thud.  
“It’s your home now too, Daniel.”  
“My name is Danny. Why do you keep calling me Daniel?”  
“It is the formal version of your name.”  
“Yes, and?”  
“I prefer it to the childish nickname you used.” I threw him a dirty look. If Skulker was uncomfortable with the thought of me having a family, maybe the same thing will work on Vlad.  
“I am a child.” I stared at the man, watching for a reaction. He only flicked his eyes up at me for a fraction of a second, before his eyes wandered back to the outside.  
I sighed. What did I do to deserve this? I was just going to meet Tucker when I was caught. I was just minding my own business, trying to get away from some stupid branches. I am only a child and I was stolen from my home, my family, my friends, my life, and sold to some guy.  
“I knew before hand you were coming. I have a contact in the auction house that tells me when rare things are getting in. You came in two days ago and they didn’t sell you until you woke up. Your spot has already been prepared.”  
“I’m not a ‘thing’! Wait- two days? What do you mean by spot?” Vlad snickered at me.  
“My, you ask a lot of questions, don’t you? But yes. I heard of your arrival at the auction house two days ago, called some contractors to fix up a spot in the mansion I think you’ll find comfortable.” I hmphed and turned away from the man.  
I watched the world pass by outside. Sparse trees and crops grown in rows. We were out of the city now, but it still wasn’t the forest. The centaurs chatted as they trotted along, ignoring their cargo.  
Vlad Masters must be a very rich man. I don’t know much about human economics or anything, but from what I’ve heard, myths are usually sold to higher class people, and they only have one or two. Vlad here is walking around with $100,000 in his pockets and using centaurs to pull his carts around.  
The cart jostled over the bumpy road and Vlad grimaced. I gave him a questioning look and he rolled his eyes.  
“We’re almost there. This part of the road is horrible.” Vlad winced as the cart bounced over another ditch in the road.  
After nearly twenty minutes of being jumbled around by the holes in the road and an hour of a smooth path, the cart finally slowed to a stop.   
Vlad stepped out of the cart gracefully, tugging me along behind him. I clamoured out of the cart and tripped on one of the steps, faceplanting into the dry gravel road beneath. I groaned and slowly stood up. Vlad was chuckling and smiling at me.  
“Shut up.” I mumbled. Vlad’s face fell and he sighed.   
“Daniel, I will not tolerate behavior like that. You will respect me. There will be repercussions for your actions.”  
“Like what? What more could you possibly do to me?” They’d already kidnapped and sold me. What more would they do? Vlad yanked me in the direction of the massive structure in front of us, his pace clipped and fast.  
I stared up at the building before me. It was huge, completely made of stone, decorated with banners of green and gold. The plants were all vibrantly colored and shining with health. I saw other myths running around inside the building, some doing chores and others just walking around. A satyr was trimming the bushes meticulously, a dryad was checking the leaves for any sign of disease.  
Vlad pulled me inside the building and continued with his threats. “If you continue to act this way I will take off your collar-” my ears perked up at that, “-but you’ll have to be branded instead.I may have to remove your antlers as well…” I stopped listening to Vlad after that, preferring to skulk in silence.  
Why does everyone want to take my manhood from me? I’ve been waiting since I was nearly five years old to grow these. I used to check in the mirror every morning to see if I started growing them, and now people have threatened to saw them off twice today. Besides, I think that’d really hurt. I can’t feel much in them, it’s like a really long fingernail.  
And branding? What kind of barbaric thing is that? I can understand the collar if he thinks I’m his property, but a brand is basically there forever. If I’m ever caught again I’m going straight back to this rich weirdo.  
I tuned back in to whatever Vlad was saying.  
“...You’ll be staying in the yard. There is a room that you can use if you so wish, but I figured you’d want to stay outside. The whole area that’s fenced in is yours. Nobody else can get in or out.”  
Vlad kept pulling me along the long winding hallways, each decorated with those horrible shades of green and gold. Not after long, we came across a wall made entirely of glass, blue water beyond it.  
“Daniel, this is Star. You may like her. She’s a mermaid.” Vlad knocked on the glass and waited, his arms down by his sides.  
A girl about my age swam out of the blue, her tail a rich orange and her hair a beautiful yellow.  
“Star, this is Daniel. He’s new.” Star looked from Vlad to me and smiled.  
“Nice to meet you, Daniel.” her voice was warped by the glass. I smiled back at her.  
“Nice meeting you, too.” Vlad tugged me away from Star, and with a quick wave,we were out of there.  
“So you can act friendly, that’s nice to know.” Vlad said with a smug smirk. I rolled my eyes at him, opting out of saying anything for my antler’s sake.  
Vlad led me through the ‘castle’, as he called it, showing me important parts of the building and their functions.  
Before long we were in a room full of books. They were stacked high on shelves, ladders on the end of each shelf. Tables with lamps filled the center of the room, and tall windows covered one wall. In the corner of the room was a desk, piled high with books and messy papers. A single lamp teetering on the edge and a tall, bald human with a paunchy stomach sat, scribbling into books with a pen.  
“Lancer-” Vlad said,” this is Daniel. Register him, please.” Lancer nodded and waved me over to him. Vlad followed behind me and sat down at the desk.  
“Name?”  
“Danny.” Lancer sighed.  
“Full name.”  
“Danny Fenton.” Vlad blinked up at me, a curious look crossing his face. Lancer wrote in my name on a sheet of paper.  
“Age?”  
“Fourteen.” Lancer’s hand slipped at that. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he just cleared his throat and continued.  
“Classification?”  
“What?” he sighed again, rolling his eyes.  
“Species?”  
“Deertaur.”  
“Purchase price?”  
I had to think about that one a little. “$100,000” Lancer blinked up at me, then at Vlad, shocked at the price.  
“Alright, that’s all there is. Welcome to Masters Castle, Danny.” Lancer smiled at me as Vlad lead me out of the room.  
The castle was like a maze of confusing rooms and corridors, at least half of which were unnecessary. Vlad interrupted my thoughts with a question.   
“So, your last name is Fenton?”  
“Yes.” my voice was clipped and short.   
“Is Jack Fenton, that massive centaur, your father, by chance?”  
“Yeah… How do you know my dad?”  
“We were friends when we were younger. Is your mother Maddie?”  
“Yeah. Did you know her too?”  
“Yes. We were very close. but then I had to go to the hospital for a little while and we fell out of touch.”  
“And now here you are, enslaving their son.” I snorted at him.   
“Yes, here I am.”   
His voice was strange, carrying unreadable notes and mystery. I huffed and looked away from him.  
How could I get out of there?


	5. Chapter 5

Vlad walked me down the long, winding, gaudily decorated hallways. We finally reached the end of the hall and he pulled me into a room with a heavy wooden door.  
The door swung open with a squeak and revealed the room within. A heavy desk in the back corner, stacked with thick, nameless books. A massive bed pushed up against the center of the wall, its covers the same green and gold that decorate the rest of the house. A white marble fireplace, engraved with shining gold across from that. On the wall on the opposite side of the door was windowed doors leading to the outside. In the corner by the desk was two doors, both intricately carved red wood. Vlad pulled me inside and shut the door behind us.  
“This is your room. I know you probably haven’t slept in a bed before, but you might like it.” he walked over to one of the doors in the room and opened it, “This is your closet, it’s got different shirts and collars for you to wear. I can’t have you looking like a savage pet when company is over.” he moved to the other door, “This is the bathroom. You will shower every day and use the shampoo,conditioner, and soap I have provided. The shampoo and conditioner is for your hair and fur, the soap is for your skin. The toilet is for-uh- using your nether regions… although you might find it difficult. The sink is for washing your hands, and I trust you know what a mirror is?” I nodded. This was all very useful information, but if I couldn’t use the toilet, then where would I go?  
Vlad led me out of the bathroom and back by the wall of windows. Vlad twisted an ornate looking handle and pushed out. A cool breeze filtered in and ruffled my hair. I took a deep breath, breathing in the cool night air. The air in the mansion is stiff and stale, making every breath outside feel so much better.  
Outside was a green yard, full of grass and a few sparse bushes and trees. There was a babbling creek winding through the tall grasses and rocks in one corner, a hollow of willow trees danced in the wind. It was gorgeous.  
But surrounding the whole area, at least 500 feet out and 400 feet across, a tall fence stood. Chain linked, and topped with barbed wire.  
“This entire place is yours. You are the only one allowed in here unless you invite someone. Feel free to explore the grounds, but do come when I call. I may have a few things for you to do or a few people for you to meet.”  
“So what, I’m just your pet now?”  
“Yes.”  
And with that, Vlad walked out of the room, leaving me alone.  
I sprinted off to the hollow of willow trees, my face flat and emotionless the whole way there. I ripped through the wall of dangling branches and fell to my knees. Tears streamed down my face.  
I would never see my parents again. I would never see Tucker, or Jazz, or even Dash, not unless they were all captured too, and even then they might not be sold to Vlad. I felt my heart break. I would probably never go home again. I would live the rest of my life as some shiny bauble on Vlad Master’s shelf.  
I felt my heart turn inside out.  
I don’t know how long I laid under the willow trees. All I know is that the next time I looked, it was sunny and bright out, birds singing and my stomach rumbling.  
My mind felt like mush and it throbbed every time I moved. I slowly stood up. I felt like someone had kicked me in the head. Hard. I stumbled groggily out of the hollow, wincing at the bright afternoon light.   
I made my way back inside in search of food. The door was still wide open and a bird was resting on the edge of the bed, having flown in sometime before.  
I sighed. This would be my room until the day I keeled over and died. I shook my head and walked out of the bedroom.   
The hallway was still as grand and as ostentatious as it was the day before. The green and gold decorations hurt my eyes. I stalked off in the direction of what I thought was the kitchens.  
I wandered for about fifteen minutes before I declared myself very lost. I decided to ask for directions from the next person I saw.  
I was completely turned around by the time across something familiar. The book room.  
I opened the tall wooden door and stepped inside.  
The man- Lancer- his name was, was still sitting at the same desk, shuffling through some papers. The door shut behind me with a ‘thud’ and the man looked up, startled.  
“Danny, right?” I blinked at him. Didn’t he only care about my full name?  
“Yeah…”  
“Did you need something?”  
“Uhm, yeah. Do you know where I can get food or something?” Lancer smiled and nodded.  
“I’ll bring you to the kitchens. Follow me.” The man walked out of the book room and waited for me in the hall.  
“So, are you liking the castle so far?” the man smiled, looking down at me. I stared at him incredulously.  
“Why would I? It’s not like I want to be here.”  
“Still attached to your past owner?” Did the man not know that myths were born in the forest too?  
“I didn’t have a past owner.” The man’s eyes widened and he started stuttering.  
“I-I’m sorry, I just assumed, I mean- you’re a deertaur.”  
“Yeah?”  
“I just, I thought they’d all died out in the wild. I thought you were specially bred or something.”  
I looked at the man, disgusted. “That’s so wrong.”  
“How so?”  
“We’re not just animals you can stick in a cage together and breed. We’re people. The ones you do manage to breed are probably threatened into it.”  
The man’s eyebrows raised and he smiled at me. I looked at him, confused.  
“Can you read?”  
“No. Why?” I started getting defensive. This human was weird.  
“Would you like to learn?” Why was this human…?   
“Don’t you think I’m just some animal?”  
“No, Danny. That was a test.”  
“A test?”  
“To see if you could form a solid argument against you being owned, and you did. So, do you want to learn how to read?”  
I stared at the strange human. Maybe if I got really smart around the humans they’d let me go. Once they see that I’m just like them they’ll have to free me.  
I nodded, smiling at the man.


	6. Chapter 6

The lessons were horrible. I don’t like reading. It gives me a headache and the lowercase letter l looks exactly like the uppercase letter I and I hate both of them. The number 3 is a backwards E and ‘the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog’ is the stupidest thing in the world.  
Lancer was very proud of my progress. We’ve gotten pretty close over the past few weeks. He was an english teacher, but he was laid off or whatever because the school ran out of money and he started running the books for local businesses. It wasn’t until about a year ago that he came to work for Vlad, who paid pretty well, apparently.  
I was heading back to my yard when Vlad walked out of the book room- which I now know to be a Library- and smiled.  
“Ah, Daniel. Just the person I wanted to see.” I glared at him. He always starts out this way when he’s gonna make me do something I don’t want to do.  
“We’re expecting guests later and I need you to clean up. Bathe, put on a shirt and one of the nice collars in your closet that you never wear, comb your hair. Speaking of which, do you ever comb your hair or do you ignore my directly given orders?”  
Glowering at the man, I answered, “Vlad, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there are bones sticking out of my head. It’s a little hard to brush around them.” I pointed up to my antlers with a raised eyebrow.  
“Yes, well, be sure to straighten that out. The guests are coming at six and I expect you to be ready by then.”  
“Why should I?” Vlad glared down at me, an unamused expression gracing his face.  
“Because I said so, and the Mansons have a myth about your age you may like.”  
I groaned and turned away from him, making my way back towards my room.  
“You better be ready, Daniel!” He called after me. I vaguely waved my arm behind me.  
“Yeah, yeah.” I sighed and walked on.  
The castle’s complex layout was easier to understand now, I hardly ever get lost anymore. I wove through the long, winding hallways until I came to the familiar door of my room.   
I swung the door open and clopped inside with a sigh. Lancer was inside waiting for me.  
“Hey Danny, want to do something?”  
“Ugh, no. Vlad wants me to get cleaned up so I can meet someone or whatever.”  
“Need me to judge your fashion?” The man smiled at me.  
“Because you’d be so great at that.” He chuckled and I walked into the closet, trying to decide which shirt I should wear. I don’t understand human fashion.  
“Let me help you out.” Lancer got up from his seat and sauntered over to the closet and flicked through some shirts, his face pensive and still.  
Finally, he pulled out a black sweater. Nothing fun or interesting on it, just a black, long sleeve shirt that was dressy enough to fool a human.  
“How’s this?”  
“It’s great. Now we just need to find a collar.” I tossed the sweater out onto my bed and followed Lancer to the back or the closet.  
He held up a few collars, but shook his head after each one. After what seemed like forever, he held up a slick black leather collar, studded with blue shining sapphiress. Tacky and expensive looking. I gave Lancer a look.  
“It’s the best thing that matches you and the sweater.” he shrugged. I huffed and snatched the collar from him, leaving the closet.  
“I’ve gotta get ready now. I’ll see you in a while.” I dismissed Lancer. he took the hint and smiled.  
“See you, Danny.” and with that, he left my room.  
Sighing, I gathered up the sweater and the collar and wandered into the bathroom.  
The ornate marble sink and tub shone under the lights above.  
I plopped the sweater and collar down in a heap by the towel rack and made my way to the tub. I hopped in with a clamour, hooves and smooth surfaces do not mix well.  
The water ran down my back and soaked my fur, rinsing out all the dust and dirt from the outside. I sat down in the tub and scrubbed myself down with the shampoo, turning my pitch black coat a sudsy white. My hair did the same.   
When I rinsed off, my hair and fur were shining in the light, completely clean.   
I struggled out of the tub and over to the sink, toweling myself off and turning on the hair dryers Vlad had set up for me while I polished my hooves.  
Once I finished, it was time to tame my hair. I got it slicked back enough so that it looked neat and didn’t mush up against my antlers.  
I slipped the sweater over my head and carefully unbuckled the worn leather collar around my neck and replaced it with the sapphire one.  
I stepped in front of the mirror and sighed. “I look ridiculous.” I glared at the mirror and sighed. It’s either this or have my antlers sawn off.  
I’ll take humiliation and embarrassment over that any day.  
Antler’s are a deertaur’s pride. The bigger the better. The more you can fight, the more you can win. Antlers are an extension of the skull- for deertaur, the bigger, the smarter and tougher. There’s no way I’d want to go without that.  
I walked out of my room and headed back towards the main foyer to meet with Vlad and his guests  
. I checked the grandfather clock in the hallway, it was nearly 6, and trotted carefully through the labyrinth of halls in the castle.  
Vlad was waiting for me with an impatient look on his face, tapping a polished shoe on the shining granite floor.   
I stumbled to a stop and stared at him as he looked me over.  
“It’s acceptable. Did Lancer help you?”  
“Yeah.” he chuckled.  
“The Mansons will be here shortly. You are to entertain their myth until I call you for dinner. Then we will meet in the dining room and eat. The Mansons will talk to you, and I expect you to be infinitely more respectful to them than you are to me, or I’ll tag your ears, are we clear?”  
“Crystal.” I grunted. Vlad rolled his eyes and crossed his arms behind his back.  
After a few minutes of waiting, the doorbell finally rang, a rich fanfare of bells sounding throughout the castle.  
The butler- a satyr- rushed forward and opened the door, welcoming the Mansons into the castle.  
A woman in a pink dress with red hair piled high on her head clopped in on high heels, followed by a blonde man, his hair slicked back and shining greasily, wearing a neat black suit and tie. After them, a short girl with long, dark, flowing hair, dressed up in a flowery purple dress that matched her amethyst eyes, her skin tainted a soft periwinkle, a nymph.  
“Mr and Mrs. Manson, and their nymph-?”  
“Samantha is her name, Mr. Masters. And this lovely young deertaur must be Daniel.”  
The two shook Vlad’s hand, smiling widely. “It’s so good to see you, Vlad.”  
“Indeed it is, Jeremy. Now, shall we get to business and let Daniel take care of Samantha?”  
“Ah, yes that would be lovely. See you at dinner Samantha.”  
And with that, the humans walked away, leaving me and Samantha alone.  
“Soooo- she started. You’re a deertaur?”  
“Yep. You’re a nymph?”  
“Yeah.”  
There was an awkward pause.  
“So, did you want to take me somewhere or-?” she dropped off the end of her sentence.  
“What?”  
“I don’t know you’re the host.”  
“I didn’t know I was hosting ‘til an hour ago.”  
“Okay, just- I don’t know- Give me a tour.”  
“A tour?”  
“Yes, a tour.”  
“Alright.”


	7. Chapter 7

“You’re really rude to your master, you know that?” We were just walking back to my room, where is this coming from?  
“He’s not my master.”  
“See, there you go again. Why are you like that?”  
“Like what? Is it wrong of me to not want to be nice to the guy who basically stole my life away from me?”  
“It’s not stealing. He’s giving you a better life. Sure, he may be a bit rude to you sometimes, and may not respect your individuality, or your fashion choices, but he saved you from the wild.” I was slightly thrown off with the small individuality rant hidden inside, but I rounded on her and started shouting.  
“How can you say that?! How is standing around as a prisoner in a yard better than being free, being with your friends and your family?”  
“You’re not a prisoner. You were saved. Out in the wild you have to struggle to survive. Here it’s safe, you don’t have to fight any more.”  
“I never fought anything! When was the last time you were even in a forest?” Her face fell.  
“I’ve never- My masters raised me in their home.”  
“So how do you know what it’s like in one, then? Hm? Tell me.”  
“My masters told me.”   
“Oh, because your masters know everything about everything, is that it?”  
“Hey don’t talk tha-”  
“I lived in the forest for fourteen years. I never starved, or froze, or anything like that in the forest. What makes life with the humans better?”  
“You don’t have anything hunting you, for one!”  
“The only thing that ever hunted me in the forest was the human who caught me, and the forest bully. You’re talking about things that you have no idea about.”  
The nymph stopped in the middle of the ornate hallway, her expression a storm. I dared her to challenge me.  
“How do you even know I’m rude to him, you’ve never even seen me speak to him.”  
“The way you look at him. You’re not supposed to look them in the eye unless you’ve been given permission.”  
“How do you know I haven’t been given permission?” She sighed and said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
“You glare at him.” Ah, that would explain it. I shrugged and walked away from her, making my way back to my room.  
“Hey! Wait up!” I heard her jog to catch up to me. “Look, I’m sorry, but you’re not even in the forest any more. You’re with the humans now, so I suggest you start acting like it before you get hurt.”  
That gave me pause. “What do you mean?”  
“The humans own us. Like it or not, you’re here now. You’re not your own person anymore, and your master has every right to punish you for it.”  
Those words echoed through my brain and settled into the back of my mind. I snorted angrily and continued back to my room, checking to see if the ridiculous suit of armor was in the corner, facing the painting of the naked lady- it was- to make sure I was going the right way.  
The padding of feet behind me alerted me that she was still trying to catch up to me. I broke into a run, sprinting through the hallways and weaving my way through the castle. I soared through my room and into the yard behind it.   
I slowed down a bit, and leapt through the bogs by the creek and hid behind the willow tree’s swaying branches.  
I folded my legs underneath myself and laid down, holding back the emotions that were raging through me. She was right. I’m with the humans now, and that means I need to be more careful. I could plan my escape, but I had to stop being overtly rebellious. No more destroying my room, no more making a mess of things, no more insulting Vlad to his face.  
I would have to be quieter about everything. Instead of talking back, just don’t talk at all. Instead of making a mess, don’t touch anything. Things like that.   
I ignored the little voice in the back of my head, telling me I’d never see my parents again, never see the forest or anything familiar ever again. I didn’t need that, so I pushed to the back of my mind and smiled.  
I would get out, and I would see them again. Nothing could stop me.  
My ears perked up when I heard soft footfalls thudding on the grass of my yard. “Daniel! Are you out here?” I stifled a groan. How did she even find me?  
I stayed completely silent, not wanting to give away my position. I looked through the branches of the willow and saw her searching for me.  
Her long, purple hair fluttered behind her, exposing her purple tinted skin and floral black dress. It was an odd choice of dress, considering her masters were very bright and happy people, from what I’d seen of them.  
She called out for me again, and again he ignored her. I kept watching her, making sure she never noticed my hiding spot.  
Her gaze slowly swept around the yard, searching for anything out of place. Her amethyst eyes paused on me for a brief moment before her eyes narrowed and a smirk grew on her face.  
She leapt through the bogs and through the long whip-like branches of the willow and stopped beside me.  
“I’m sorry.” her eyes were downcast and sparkled in the sunlight. “I know you’re new to this, I just- I was born into it. My masters are basically my parents. Sure, they don’t respect me for who I am and my choices and opinions, but they want what’s best for me, just like yours does too.”  
I glared at her, “What’s best for me is to be back with my family and friends. I’m not supposed to be here. I don’t belong here. Oh, and call me Danny.”  
“Alright, but only if you call me Sam. What’s your family like, Danny?” she asked, sitting down beside me and crossing her legs. I suppose it can’t hurt to tell her, right?  
“My dad is a centaur. He’s huge and he’s the best dad I could’ve asked for. He was supposed to be the leader of the forest, but he was too obsessed with spirits to be able to lead.  
My mom is a dryad. She’s a great mother. She’s kind and wicked smart and beautiful.   
My sister, Jazz is a dryad too. She’s one of the smartest myths in the forest. She’s overprotective and overbearing, but she’s really great.”  
“How are you a deertaur? I mean, if your parents are a centaur and a dryad, wouldn’t that make you one of those?”  
“Well, my mom’s great great grandfather was a deertaur who married a dryad, and all of the children on her side, up until me, have been dryads, so.” I shrugged and glanced over at her.  
Her face was still and emotionless, her hair pooled around her. She blinked and got a wistful look on her face.  
“My biological mother died in childbirth. She was one of my master’s favorites and they wanted to help her, so they kept me instead of giving me away. They raised me and educated me. I owe everything to them.”   
I nodded solemnly and looked down at the ground. “ I’m sorry.” I said gently, meeting her eyes for a split second before looking back down.  
“It’s fine. I don’t remember her, so what’s the harm?” I rubbed the back of my neck with the pause that came after that.  
“So you love your masters like your parents?” I asked.  
She scoffed “I don’t love them. I respect them. There’s a difference. I give them what they want, and in turn they let me have certain privileges. Like, if I clean the bathrooms, then I get to wear black clothes. If I keep my hair long, I can go out whenever I want, so long as its before 10 pm and after 7 am.”  
“So its just like a normal parent-child relationship, is it?” I asked, chuckling a little. Her face broke out into a smile and she laughed, nodding.  
“Yeah, I suppose it is.” She grinned at me and I smiled back.   
We chatted for a while, just talking about our lives. She had a lot of questions about the forest, and I got to ask some questions that had been nagging me for a while about the humans. She was actually pretty nice, once you got past the whole ‘obey your master’ thing.   
I learned that she bargained cleaning her masters’ bedroom for being a vegetarian, cooking breakfast on sundays (although she’s awful at it) for black paint for her room, and wearing bright, obnoxious dresses every third tuesday for buying dark clothes. She really likes dark things.  
At 6, we headed back to the dining room. Vlad and her masters were waiting for us there, discussing business or something.  
“Ah, Daniel. How good of you to join us. And Samantha, please sit.” Vlad smiled at the both of us, being overly- genial for the Manson’s sake. Sam sat down, and I kneeled down at the table (it would be hard for me to sit in a chair, what with four legs?).   
“So, did you two enjoy your time?” Sam smiled and nodded at Vlad.  
“Danny’s very nice, once you get to know him.” Vlad smirked and looked over at me. He was enjoying this, I could tell.  
“Oh, yes? Tell me more.”   
“W-well, he likes space. Y’know stars and planets and everything.”  
“I didn’t know that.” He glanced over at me, his eyes sparkling with mirth  
O rolled my eyes at him and looked down at my plate. Steaming food lay piled on top of it. Greens and blues and mushy white all pushed together on the same plate. Rich smells wafted up into my nostrils, tingling my senses and tickling my brain. Say what you want about humans, they know how to cook some really great food.  
I picked at my plate, ignoring the rest of the conversation and making small talk with Sam.  
Dinner ended too soon, and Sam had to leave.  
We stood by the door, waiting for her masters to finish talking to Vlad. Pamela, hugged Vlad, while Jeremy shook Vlad’s hand and said a few parting words.  
“See you, Danny.” she smiled at me and waved.  
“See you.” I waved back as Pamela draped an arm over her, and led her outside, Jeremy trailing behind them.  
Vlad shut the door tightly and turned back to me, a smug look on his face. “Well, that went well.”  
“Whatever, Vlad.” I rolled my eyes and started back towards my room.   
“Daniel, wait.” I jerked to a stop and looked back over my shoulder, feeling bored and irritated.  
“I’m going on a business trip in a week. You’re coming with me.”  
“What? Why?” I didn’t want to be anywhere near this man, now he’s dragging me everywhere with him. That’s just great.  
“Because you’re my deertaur and I don’t trust you to be left alone for a week and not get into anything.”  
I glowered at the man and turned away, unwilling to deal with him any more.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been a while since I've updated this. I had a bit of writer's block, but I'm back. Hope you all enjoy this little bit.

I stumbled down the narrow hallway of the lavish train car. Windows on one side of me, rich-looking wooden panels on the other, occasionally broken up by ornate carved doors, numbers painted black on a panel by each one. Lanterns dangled from the ceiling above, swaying with the unsteady motion of the train.

The business trip or whatever it was Vlad was dragging me on was in full swing. I had to pack a few shirts and extra collars into a bag so I could ‘have something to wear’. Vlad brought along two whole trunks, both the size of full-grown satyrs and weighing about the same. They were full of clothes and accessories, extravagant and unnecessary.

The dining car, where Vlad demanded that I be for dinners only, was two passenger cars away from the livestock car, where I stayed. I was only supposed to leave the livestock car for dinners and if Vlad told me to otherwise.

I bumbled through the last door of the passenger car, and into the livestock car. It wasn’t much, just simple wooden walls, barely nailed together, you could see outside if you looked between the panels. Straw was laid all around the floor to act as bedding for the cows, sheep and other myths that were being housed in the car. The wind whistled through the thin walls and straight into my bones, chilling me to my core and making me wish for a blanket or two.

All of the time spent indoors with fireplaces and blankets and shirts was making me soft. But even if I had never even gone inside, I’d still be shivering. The cows were all huddled together with the sheep, trying to keep each other warm.

Sighing, I nestled down into my designated stall and pulled the straw over my exposed skin and curled into a shaking ball.

The straw kept me surprisingly warm, for all that it’s worth. It wasn’t a blanket or fireplace, but it did it’s job well enough. I was out like a light before too long.

\--X--

“Kid.”

I felt something touch my side. “Hey, kid.”  whatever it was prodded me again. “Deertaur, wake up.” something it me in the stomach, hard.

“Wghuuuunnnmmmmm?” I moaned, batting at the poking thing. A gruff chuckle and another poke to my now aching side was the only response.

“C’mon, kid. Up and at ‘em.” Groaning, I looked up at the massive black centaur standing above me. I slowly picked myself off the ground and shook the straw out of my fur and hair.

Chilled air filtered in from the walls and the rocking of the train threw me off balance again. “Wha’ time’s it?” I groggily asked the centaur.

“Time for you to wake up.” was the only response as he turned away and rejoined his herd.

“Thank you, that was very helpful.” I muttered as I turned back to the door and made my way back to the dining car.

I nearly ran into a woman coming out of her room in the passenger car. She glared at me with a look of distaste before she retreated back into her room.

The glowing lights flickered with a bump on the train tracks and I continued toward the dining car, opening the door with a squeak and being jostled against the door when the tracks took a sharp turn.

Laughter at my clumsiness echoed from the humans sitting around their pristine white tables. Plates piled high with rich smelling delicacies and brightly colored vegetables.

“Daniel! Over here. I have your plate for you.” Vlad waved me over to a table in a far corner, men in black business suits and women in elegant dresses smiling mockingly in my direction.

I staggered back to the corner and stood next to Vlad, who lifted a bowl sparsely filled with cooked potatoes and lettuce. I grimaced at the meal and grabbed a fork from the table.

“Daniel, these are my business acquaintances. This-” he motioned towards a man with dark skin and graying hair, green eyes shining through thick glasses “-is Damian Gray. He’s my new partner in a venture I call Axion. His daughter is about your age I believe, Valerie, correct?”

Damian Gray grinned back and nodded. “She’s in the car just ahead of this one, reading some books about myths, most likely. She’s fascinated by you creatures. I’m sure she’d love an opportunity to meet a deertaur.”

I gave him a vague smile and went back to eating. I didn’t really care if his daughter was interested in me or not. I just wanted to eat my meal in peace, then go back to the livestock car and probably sleep some more.

“Daniel, when you’ve finished eating, why don’t you go and find Ms. Gray.” I narrowed my eyes at him and glared.

Swallowing the rest of my meal, I responded with a “Fine.”, and walked into the passenger car where this Valerie person supposedly was.

The passenger car was luxuriously decorated with silky, peach colored walls and gold trim. The windows were tall and wide, giving a nearly endless view of the chilled mountain morning. Fog hung around the tops of trees, the sky was a gray, receding into the horizon and giving way to a vibrant orange sunrise. Mountains peppered with snow surrounded a valley of pine trees. Behind me, a solid wall of snowy rock rushed past. We were halfway up a snowy mountain, three feet on either side from sheer cliff face.

A young woman with chocolate colored skin and fierce, green eyes sat in a bench, staring out the wall of windows forlornly.

I assumed this girl was Valerie and walked up to her as gracefully as I could. Her bright green eyes flicked up to me and widened.

“Uh- H-hi. I’m Danny. I was told to-” I cut myself off when she stood up and walked around me predatorily, circling and watching my every move. Her green eyes narrowed and the way she held herself reminded me of a cat, judging her prey, preparing to hunt.

“You’re a deertaur, right?”

“Y-yeah. What are you-?” She suddenly bent over, grabbing my front left leg and raising it to eye level, sending me off kilter. I lost what little balance I had on the slick tiled floors and went crashing down.

“I’m training to be a hunter. I need to know about my prey before I can hunt it. Deertaurs are so rare, this might be my only chance to see one.”

Her voice was cold, calculating. She stared intensely at the bottom of my foot as if memorizing every curve and detail. “Uhmmm… That’s great, but could you let go of my foot?” I tried tugging my foot away from her, but her grip was firm.

I clumsily clamoured up on three feet, nearly taking one of her eyes out with an antler. She didn’t even blink.

“Okay, seriously, let go.” I yanked my hoof out of her grasp and stumbled a little, setting it down on the ground.

Her face was thunderous. I took a few steps back before her hand shot out and snagged one of my antlers, dragging my head closer.  
“Ow! Watch it!”

“Hold still. I heard a rumor about the spot between a deertaur’s antlers and I want to see if it’s true.”

My eyes widened and I tried to scramble away from her, but the floor was once again working against me. My hooves slipped around on the smooth surface, not even moving me an inch.

It is gladly, not a well known fact about deertaurs that we have a weak spot. Like humans get ticklish and satyrs are really panicky sometimes. We have this spot, directly between our antlers that, when rubbed, feels better than anything ever. It’s really sensitive, so anything that happens up there is really felt. If someone pulls a hair, I’d feel it like they were stabbing me. Others just touching it gently feels like heaven, but when it’s rubbed it can put us to sleep or relax us so much that everything is forgiven. And I did _not_ want to forgive this foot-grabber.

But her hand came down right on that spot, delicately and ever so easily. I stopped fighting and groaned, leaning into her hand. The world blurred and everything became unimportant. I thought I head Valerie laughing, but I just didn’t care. My nerves were lighting up with pleasure and my eyes drifted shut.

Maybe Valerie isn’t so bad after all.


End file.
